Fairy Tales Meets Science Fiction
by newbienovelistRD
Summary: Ben Tennyson has his bad days. But his bad day turns bizarre when he's sucked into a mysterious book and ends up in a world where fairy tales are real!
1. The Book

**According to my latest poll, Ben 10 has won the honor of being a part of my first Ever After High story! So kick back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

'Once upon a time,'

The classic words to begin a story. But this particular story begins in a very unlikely place. Not in a kingdom far, far away, but in a modern city called Bellwood, home of Ben Tennyson, wielder of the Omnitrix and famous superhero.

Sure, being a superhero has it's perks, but Ben was having one of those bad days.

"OUT OF MY STORE, TENNYSON!" Mr. Baumann roared as he shoved the teen hero out the door.

"Oh, come on! I just stopped Vulkanus from wrecking your store!" Ben argued. "The least you can do is be grateful!"

"Not after costing me thousands of dollars in damage repairs!" snapped Mr. Baumann. "One of these days, you are gonna get yours, Tennyson!"

And the grouchy shopkeeper slammed the door shut.

Ben stomped away from the store while Vulkanus was being taken in by the Plumbers.

"Do not be upset, Ben." Ben's partner Rook told him. "I'm sure Mr. Baumann does appreciate your help."

"Do you think I care?" Ben grumbled. "Let's get out of here and meet up with Gwen."

Ben and Rook went to visit Ben's cousin Gwen at Friedkin University. They drove onto school grounds and as soon as they exited the vehicle, a swarm of fans flocked to Ben.

"It's Ben Tennyson!" a fan girl squealed.

"Ben! Sign my forehead!" a boy in his leather jacket said.

"Can we take a picture with your sidekick?!" asked another girl.

"Can you turn into something?!" asked a nerd with thick glasses.

"Everyone, please!" Ben chuckled as he calmed the crowd down. "One at a time! There's plenty of hero to go around!"

"Um, Ben..."

Ben heard the weak call of his partner. That's when Ben looked and saw the pack of cheerleaders stroking Rook's fur and touching his face. "A little help here please..." Rook pleaded.

"Come on, Rook. You're living the fantasy of every college kid!" Ben said. "How many can say they have a pack of cheerleaders hanging all over them?"

"Not too many," a girl with short red hair and glasses walked into the fray. It was Ben's cousin Gwen along with her boyfriend Kevin Levin. "But that's because cheerleaders are evil." said Gwen.

"Now get back, ladies. Give the guy some air." Kevin said as he separated Rook from the girls.

Ben rolled his eyes. "Come on, Gwen. That's such a stereotype. Cheerleaders aren't evil. Heck, they don't nearly hold a candle to Vilgax or Aggregor or Albedo or-"

"Yeah, yeah, we get the point, Tennyson." said Kevin.

"So, how's my favorite cousin?" asked Ben. "Staying out of trouble?"

Gwen grinned. "Look who's talking." she said. "And if you must know, I've been doing great. I've had another visitor over."

Ben tilted his head. "Another visitor?"

"That's right," a voice said. Ben's eyes went wide when he saw Kai Green. "How's it going, Ben?

"Uh, just fine," Ben said in a slightly wary tone. Ben and Kai had recently become a couple. But Ben was still getting used to it because of Spanner, a time traveling hero, revealed that Ben and Kai are married in the future. It was a real bombshell, especially since the fact of them being married was broadcasted across the universe thanks to an alien game show.

"What's the matter, Tennyson? Nervous around your future bride?" Kevin joked, earning him a sharp elbow to the ribs from Gwen.

Kai frowned. "Very funny, Kevin."

"We're just friends." Ben insisted. "Anyway, what are you doing here, Kai?"

"I came here because I found this in an old ruin. It must be pretty special." Kai reached into her backpack and took out an old thick book. It was closed with a golden lock. A oval shaped pink mirror was on the cover.

"Wow, an old book. I can barely contain my joy." Ben said dryly.

Kai just glared. She never liked Ben's blunt rudeness.

"Anyway, I say we blow this scene of higher education and head to Mr. Smoothy." Ben said.

"Sorry, Ben. But I've got to cram for a test." said Gwen.

"And I'm off to the Auto show." Kevin said.

Ben shrugged. "Oh, well. Guess it's just you and me partner."

"On the contrary, Ben," Rook said. "I am a bit fascinated by Kai's book."

Ben frowned.

"At least someone cares." Kai said smugly. "Rook and I will investigate this book. Who needs a lamebrain like you anyway, Tennyson?"

"The feeling's mutual, Ms. Know it all!" Ben snapped. He activated his Omnitrix and turned into XLR8 and zoomed away from the university and headed to the nearest Mr. Smoothy.

When Ben arrived and got his order, he was ready to take a great big gulp from his blueberry and bubblegum smoothie until something whizzed by and whacked him on the head.

"OW! Hey!" Ben snapped. And much to his annoyance, it was Chadzmuth, Galvin attorney at law on his hovering briefcase.

"Watch where you're going, Short stuff!" Ben snapped, rubbing his sore head.

Chadzmuth grinned smugly as he turned to the boy. "Sorry, didn't see you. You're such an primitive species, I kind of forgot you were even here." He laughed as he hovered away.

Ben scowled. He hated that Galvan so much. It's bad enough he's a cutthroat lawyer, but he has to rub in being more intelligent than Ben. He got up and huffed away from Mr. Smoothy.

Ben kept walking, still irked from Chadzmuth. He just wanted to be alone, but that wasn't going to happen when he got a phone call. "What do you want?" he grumbled.

"Ben, is everything okay?" It was Rook. "You still sound upset."

"I'm fine, Rook." Ben lied. "What's the emergency?"

"I was going to tell you, but it sounds like there's something troubling you." his partner replied.

"Just spit it out, Rook!" Ben snapped into the phone.

After a pause, Rook spoke. "Uh, spit what out?"

"NEVER MIND!" Ben yelled in anger. He furiously hung up. "And Kai calls me a lamebrain." Ben turned on the Omnitrix and was going to be XLR8, but he got the wrong alien.

"Jury Rigg?!" Ben was really having a bad day. But with Jury Rigg's mechanical prowess, and psychotic tendencies, he spotted a car, a hot dog cart, and a guy on a motorcycle.

"Disassemble! FIX FIX FIX FIX FIX FIX!" Jury Rigg cackled maniacally as he sprang into action.

A few seconds later, Jury Rigg was speeding through the city in a high speed hot dog cart. Laughing and cackling along the way. Amazingly, it carried him all the way back to Friedkin University.

The hot dog cart finally broke down and Jury Rigg transformed back into Ben. "Alright, what's the...emergency?"

Ben looked around and saw Friedkin University building debris everywhere. It looked like something big and mighty crashed and thrashed everywhere. But what Ben was really gaping at was Kai, she was scraped and bruised badly, her clothes torn, and her arm in a sling.

"KAI!" Ben called out. He ran right to her. "What happened?! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine..." Kai grumbled, glaring right through Ben. "No thanks to you!" She was about to punch Ben until Rook grabbed her arm.

"Please, control yourself, Ms. Green." Rook said calmly. "You are in very bad shape."

"I said I was fine!" Kai snapped at Rook.

"HEY! Don't yell at my friend!" Ben yelled, shoving Kai away from Rook.

"I can yell as much as I want!" Kai yelled.

But Ben ignored Kai's rage and turned to Rook. "What happened here?!"

Rook's eyes narrowed. "It was Exo-Skull and Subdora." he said. "They're back."

"They're back?!" Ben exclaimed in both shock and confusion. "I thought they were locked up back in the future!"

"Well, they returned and almost got away with this." Rook pulled out the book Kai had.

Ben took the book from Rook's hands. He stared at it deeply. If dangerous aliens like Exo-Skull and Subdora are after it, it must be extremely powerful.

"We just barely managed to stop them." Kevin said. "They got away when the Plumbers had them surrounded."

"Yeah, and no thanks to you, Ben Tennyson." Kai said, her words were cold as ice.

Rook was expecting Ben to say a wisecrack. But to his surprise, Ben looked sad.

Gwen stomped her foot forward, her glare meeting Kai's. "At least my cousin is more important than you are!" she argued.

"Well, if you ask me, you make a better hero than that stupid cousin of yours!" Kai argued back. "He doesn't even deserve the Omnitrix since he's a complete moron!"

"Says the girl who wanted to 'train and tame' Ben like he was a house pet!" Gwen said. "You're just as disgusting as he is! No wonder you two are meant for each other!"

While everyone was getting into an argument, Ben was long gone from Friedkin University. He was deep within the forest and just kept running. He kept running and running until he couldn't run anymore. He fell to his knees in shame, he looked at the book. His body started to shake.

"Why can't I do anything right...? Why me?" Ben asked no one. "I guess I was just born to be miserable...no wonder Azmuth let me keep the Omnitrix. He knew that it would make me suffer..."

Tears. Actual tears started to form in his eyes. "I wish I never existed here." he sobbed. "I wish I could just go to a place where I can be happy all the time, a place where there are no aliens and nobody fights."

Ben's tears fell and landed on the book's cover. He started to cry as he slammed the book against his forehead.

"But a place like that doesn't exist!" he wailed. "There's just no hope for me! Nothing!"

Suddenly, the book started to glow a shimmering gold aura. Ben choked back his tears and to his shock, the book unlocked and opened itself, the pages began to turn.

"What the-?!"

Ben saw the glow become brighter and the pages turning faster, bathing Ben in it's own glow as he felt himself pulled into the book!

A flash of light lit up the forest.

When it died down, Ben was gone.

All that was left was the book. It closed and locked itself shut.


	2. The World of Ever After

"What's happening?!" Ben yelled as he fell deeper and deeper through what looked to be pages of the book. There were words, pictures, everything was happening so fast. Ben came upon a picture of a sky, and he was falling right through it!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Ben screamed as he found himself falling from the sky! No time to spare and not wanting to be a grease spot on the ground, Ben used the Omnitrix and prayed in his head that he'll get something that flies. He slammed it down and,

"Whampire?!" Ben said. "About time I get a good one!" Whampire flew down from the sky and landed safely on a grassy hill. When he looked out to see where he was, his eyes were wide with wonder.

As far as his eyes can see, Whampire saw a beautiful land that glowed with a radiant sunshine. In the distance, he spotted a large castle located at a cliff top. This beautiful land was a truly glorious sight, like it was magical.

"Wow..." Whampire breathed out. "This place is amaz-"

The Vladat paused when he felt his skin burning. His body started to smoke!

"Oh, man!" Ben forgot he was still Whampire! And Whampire burns in daylight!

Smoking, panicking and in pain, Whampire flew away and tried to find an area with little sunlight, which was hard to find in a sunny place like this.

But with great luck, Whampire spotted a very dark, and very unwelcome looking forest. But darkness it exactly what Whampire needed right now, so he flew deep into the forest and hung upside down on the nearest tree branch. His skin slowly began to cool.

While thinking his best upside down, Whampire tried to assess his situation. "Okay, I get sucked into a book, then I end up in a fantasy world of some kind...what am I going to do?"

Then Whampire heard a rustling from the bushes. He looked down and saw a flash of red speeding through the woods.

Whampire came down from the branch "Whoa! That girl is fast!" He paused. "At least I think it was a girl, it was girl shaped." Shrugging, Whampire took off after the mysterious runner.

It was a girl, a girl in a red hood. She ran at such incredible speeds, it was like she was in a marathon and won, and celebrated by doing more running! A small dire wolf was running alongside her, but he was actually trying his best to keep up with her!

And Whampire was the same. He flew over the girl, trying not to lose her. _'She sure is fast.'_ Whampire thought. _'Maybe a little too fast...'_ He wondered if this girl was even human.

Finally, the girl and her pet stopped at a small clearing out near end of the trail. She wiped a little sweat off her brow. "Phew! Awesome race, Carmine."

The small wolf named Carmine barked in agreement.

Ben had finally caught up with her. But at the worst possible time, the Omnitrix has timed out while he was still in mid air! Ben screamed as he fell to the ground. He closed his eyes and braced himself.

"OOF!" Ben landed hard, but oddly enough, it didn't hurt as much as he thought. He looked down and gasped. "Oh, my gosh!"

Ben found himself sitting on another girl! "Are you okay?! I'm sorry I fell on you!" Ben said as he helped the girl up. When he got a good look at her, Ben backed up a little to take her all in.

The girl's look was a busy one. Her hair was curly and came in three colors: dark turquoise, mint green, and dark magenta. She had bright blue eyes and light skin. Her clothes were a hodgepodge of colors and patterns of yellow, black, and blue. Atop her head was a little hat shaped like a teacup.

The girl shook her head rapidly, then blinked twice at Ben. "Whoa! Didn't see that coming! Where'd you come from?!"

"That's what I'd like to know." The hooded girl asked. Carmine walked up to Ben and sniffed him carefully.

It was now or never. Ben had to make a good impression or he could end up being the enemy of these strange but cute girls.

Ben opened his mouth to speak, but the colorful looking girl beat him to it. She grinned and said, "White knight, sunshine; a place, a face, I have mine."

Ben stared. "Huh?"

The girl covered her mouth in surprise. "Oops! Sorry, I guess you don't speak Riddlish." She giggled. "I said: Hello, what is your name?"

"Uh, my name's Ben, Ben Tennyson." he said. "And you are?"

The bubbly girl smiled and tipped her teacup hat. "Madeline Hatter! Hat-tastic to meet you!"

Ben cocked an eyebrow. "Madeline Hatter? Like Mad Hatter?"

"Yep!" Madeline nodded. "He's my dad."

"Your dad?!" Ben exclaimed. He turned to the other girl. Seeing her red hood, Ben had a good idea who she was. "And are you...?"

"I'm Cerise, daughter of Red Riding Hood." she said in a shy voice.

Ben's mouth dropped open. What kind of world was he in?!

"Hey! Maddie?" a new voice called.

Ben turned and saw what could be the most beautiful girl he's ever seen. Her pale skin made her violet eyes pop. Her ebony hair cascaded down her back. Her purple dress complimented the purple and maroon highlights in her hair.

"Who are you?" this mysterious, cool beauty asked Ben.

Ben's mind was blank. He tried to breath. "Uh, I'm uh..."

"This is Ben, Ben Tennyson." Maddie introduced.

"H-Hi." Ben finally said, his face flushed.

"Hey, I'm Raven, Raven Queen." The girl smiled. Ben's heart melted from that smile. And her name, Raven Queen, it's like music.

"What a beautiful name." Ben said without thinking.

Raven's perfectly thin eyebrows lifted. "Oh, uh, thanks." She chuckled. "So, where did you come from?"

Ben snapped out his lovesick state. "Oh! I'm from...out of town."

"From where out of town?" Cerise asked, her hands on her hips.

Ben scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's kind of hard to explain."

"I know!" Maddie chirped. "Why don't we talk about it over a nice cup of tea at my dad's tea shop?"

"Tea shop?" Ben said.

"That's right! The Wonderland Haberdashery and Tea Shop!" Maddie grabbed Ben's hand and started to run. "Let's go!"

"Whoa! Slow down!" Ben said.

With his new found friends, Ben was taken to the town near the castle on the cliff. There, he saw little shops and boutiques. People were walking by and having a good time together.

"Wow, this is a nice little town." Ben said. It was a lot cleaner and more pleasant looking than Undertown. There were no riots or robberies going on so far. And not an alien in sight.

"This is the Village of Book End." Maddie explained. "This is were we go when we're not at school."

"School, huh?" Ben said. "I hope your school is as cool as this place."

Maddie giggled. "You could say that. Ever After High is a pretty hat-tastic school. Sure, it's not Wonderland High, but Ever After is just as tea-riffic."

"Do you go to school?" Raven asked Ben.

"I used to, but I left school to take on this special job I got." Ben said.

"What kind of work?" Cerise asked.

"Here we are!" Maddie sang. Ben looked in awe of this kooky looking place. It definitely looked like a Mad Hatter's tea shop. But once they stepped inside, Ben felt lost the moment the door closed behind him. Floating tea kettles flew everywhere, wacky looking clocks tick-tocked above countless doors, it was the maddest tea shop he ever stepped into.

A door on the ceiling swung opened up and a tall lanky man in a very large hat dropped to the floor.

"Daddy!" Maddie swung her arms around her father, the Mad Hatter.

"Maddie!" the hatter hugged his daughter. He saw the brown haired boy staring blankly at him. "Oh!" He jumped up high and landed right in front of Ben. "And who might you be?"

Ben was still staring. "Uh..."

The Mad Hater blinked thrice. "Uh? Uh?" He rolled the sound in his mouth. Then he smiled big and shook Ben's hand vigorously. "Well, hat-tastic to meet you, Uh!" His smile dipped. "Sorry, but we don't have reservation for you, Uh."

Ben looked around. "But there's no one else here."

"Exactly! They didn't have a reservation!" The hatter turned to Maddie. "What a charming lad!" he chuckled.

Maddie nodded. "Yup, he'd make a great Alice."

"Uh, thanks. I guess." Ben said, confused. "And my name is Ben, not Uh."

Mad Hatter saw the frown on Ben's face. "Oh, don't be a pouty pumpkin! Let's get you some tea!" He escorted Ben ad the rest of the girls to a table. "What's your cup of tea, my boy?"

"I don't drink tea." said Ben.

"Earl Grey it is!" chirped the Hatter.

Ben frowned.

Once the rest of the girls placed their orders, Maddie's father pranced away like a merry school boy.

"That's some dad you got there, Maddie." said Ben.

Maddie smiled wide. "I know! So, riddle me this: Why did I meet you on top of me like that?"

Ben tried to think of a good excuse. "Well, I was...tree climbing and I lost my grip." he lied. "Anyway, I'm real sorry I fell on you."

Maddie shrugged it off. "No problem. Let bygones begone, I always say."

"You must be pretty bold to be tree climbing in the Dark Forest." Cerise said. "It's not a safe place, you know."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Please, that forest looked like a walk through the park if you ask me."

"Wow. It must take a lot to scare you, huh?" Raven said, smiling.

"Well, apart from the thought of eating my grandpa's cooking, I'm not afraid of anything." Ben remarked.

The girls giggled from Ben's joke. It looked like he was making a good impression after all.

"Sounds like your grandpa should get to know Hagatha, the school lunch lady." Raven said.

"Hagatha? Okay, that name alone should be reason enough not to hire her." Ben joked.

The girls laughed even more.

"You're so funny!" Maddie said.

Ben smiled. "I think I'm really gonna like it here."

"We think so too." Raven said.

The hatter arrived with a cart of floating tea kettles, teacups and plates of scrumptious looking pastries. It looked far more appetizing than the food in Undertown or Mr. Baumann's store.

Ben took a bright green colored scone and bit it a little. And it was delicious! Soon Ben was chomping down scones and sipping tea! And the tea was just as tasty!

"This stuff is awesome!" Ben said with a mouthful of crumpet.

Maddie threw her hands in the air. "Another satisfied customer!"

Ben smiled, showing the crumbs of food on his teeth, the girls just giggled at him.

This place was a dream come true for Ben. A fairy tale come true.


	3. Alien in Boy's Clothing

Back at Friedkin University, Gwen and Kevin were still arguing with Kai.

"You don't even deserve my cousin!" Gwen snapped.

"Or any guy for that matter!" Kevin said.

"Your cousin doesn't deserve me or anyone else!" Kai snapped back. "He shouldn't have anything especially that stupid Omnitrix! He's just a dumb kid!"

"You all are!" a voice said.

Gwen, Kevin and Kai looked back and saw Rook and Ben's grandpa Max with the book. Rook was holding the book.

"Grandpa?! What are you doing here?!" Gwen said.

"I came as soon as I heard that Ben has gone missing." the plumber answered, glowering.

"Gone missing?!" Kevin said.

Rook glared at the humans. "I hope you are all happy. While you were busy arguing, you completely forgot about Ben. He is gone, all that was left was this book."

"Yeah? Well, good riddance!" Kai said.

Gwen fired a mana blast at Kai's broken arm. She screamed in pain.

"There's plenty more where that came from!" Gwen growled.

"That's enough, Gwen." Max said. "We need to find Ben."

Rook sadly lowered his head. "But where could he be?"

"We'll round up a search party." said Max. "And we won't rest until we find him."

"You go find him! Not me!" Kai said, turning away. She snatched the book away from Rook. "I'm going to research my artifact and enjoy the rest of my life without Ben Tennyson!"

"Whatever, you'd just be dead weight anyway!" Kevin snarled. He and everyone else took off.

But Max had to have a word with Kai. "Listen Kai, my grandson may not be perfect. But then again, no one is. And yet, Ben still has what it takes to do the right thing, despite all his faults. And right now, we need to find Ben before something bad happens to him. I hope that when you think about it, you'll do the right thing as well."

And the elderly plumber walked off.

Kai stood there by her lonesome, deep in thought.

Little did everyone know that Kai was holding Ben's location.

* * *

After the tea party, Ben and the girls left the Haberdashery.

"I gotta say, that place was pretty cool." Ben admitted, smiling.

"Of course, it's the maddest place in town!" Maddie chirped.

Ben decided he rather liked Maddie. With her cheerful position and kind heart, it was hard not to like her.

"So, are you going to Ever After High?" Raven asked.

Ben blinked twice. "Ever After High?"

Maddie nodded. "Yup! That big bording school over there!" She pointed to the castle on the cliff.

"That's a school?! I thought it was a palace!" Ben said.

Raven shrugged. "It may not be a palace, but it's our home away from home."

"So, what's it like there?" asked Ben.

"Ever After High is where we, the children of famous fairy tales follow in our parents' footsteps so our stories will always be told!" Maddie said.

"But we don't have to if we don't want to." Raven said in a serious tone. "We can always rewrite our own destinies if we don't want the ones our parents had."

"Really? What story are you from, Raven?" Ben inquired.

The girls froze, looking at Ben with shocked faces. The townspeople stopped what they were doing and gave Ben the same shocked look.

"You...don't know what story _I'm_ from?" Raven said. "Do you even know who..." She looked around. "my mother was?"

"No," Ben simply said. "Who was your mom?"

The townspeople gasped loudly at the boy's question They waited to get their breath back.

Raven looked nervous, unsure if she should tell him. "Well..." she started. "my mother was...the Evil Queen."

Several villagers screamed and ran away into the buildings. Birds and small fairies started flying away from their perches.

Ben was quite stunned on how a person's name could make an entire town cower.

"The...Evil Queen?" Ben rubbed his chin. "Is she the one with the poisoned apple?"

"Yes," Raven sighed out. "And my mom did a lot more than poison Snow White. She went on a rampage and tried to take over all the fairy tales! Every day she would groom me to be evil, teach me to make poisons, bring me to war meetings with her generals and scold me for being nice and apologizing. Thankfully, she was defeated before she could take over Ever After, but it wasn't easy. And a lot of people think I'm just as evil as she is..." The girl looked very, very sad.

"Well, I don't think you're evil." Ben said. "You're not even pretty evil."

Raven perked her head up, eyes wide. "You think so?"

Ben smiled. "Yeah, you're probably the nicest girl I've ever met."

Raven smiled even wider. Her violet eyes twinkled. "Thank you."

"Oh, that's so sweet I'm getting a cavity."

Ben looked over his shoulder and saw what looked like a ballerina in a white tutu with black, white, and mauve hair. Her red lips scowled unpleasantly as she walked towards Ben.

"It's bad enough that you're the queen of rebels, Raven. Now, you're brainwashing the poor boy into thinking you rule." the girl said with a snarky tone.

"Jealousy is an ugly emotion, you know." Ben said, just a snarky.

The girl glared angrily at Ben. She opened her mouth to say some more.

"Just back off, Duchess." Raven said. "We don't need you ruffling our feathers today."

"Yeah. So why don't you and those ugly shoes of yours take a walk?" Ben said.

Duchess huffed and gritted her teeth. "Do you even know who I am?!"

"Why? Did you forget?" Ben quipped. "And if you did, I don't really care."

Duchess's jaw went slack with shock and anger. She stomped away in anger.

"Guess not everyone is friendly here." Ben said.

"That was Duchess Swan, her story is Swan Lake." Cerise said. "Best to avoid her."

"No argument here." said Ben.

Raven received a text. "Uh, oh! It's from Apple! she says something's wrong with Brair! We better get going!"

"Briar?" Ben said before Maddie grabbed his arm again.

"No time to waste! Let's go, go, go!" Maddie said and started running.

Ben and the girls ran all the way to Ever After High. It was quite a run, but Ben noticed how fast Cerise was. She was almost as fast as XLR8! Ben would have to question her later because apparently there was a crisis going on!

At last, everyone arrived at the school and rushed past the huge doors.

"Wow..." Ben breathed in awe of how magnificent this school was. It must be a special school if Ben actually liked this place!

"Come on, Ben!" Maddie called out.

"Coming!" Ben hurried over to where the girls were.

"This is where the Royal Student Council plans the school dances." Maddie said as they walked into a lounge.

"Oh, thank Godmother you're here!" a musical voice said.

Ben's jaw dropped and his heart fluttered.

It was another unbelievably gorgeous girl. Her golden hair brightened the room, her blue eyes magically shined, her red lips matched her stunning apple red dress.

The radiant beauty looked at Ben. "Who are you?"

Unfortunately, Ben forgot how to talk. All he could do was mutter a few sounds.

Maddie shook her hand in front of Ben's face. "Yoo-hoooo! Beeeeen!" she sang out.

"Huh?! Oh! Uh, hi! I'm Ben!" His face turned pink.

The lovely blonde giggled. "Nice to meet you. I'm Apple White, daughter of Snow White."

Ben heard angels sing hearing this sweet girl's voice. She was the fairest of them all, without a doubt.

"So, what's up with Briar?" Raven asked.

Apple turned to a snoring girl with tan skin wearing a pink dress with roses on it. "We were planning the annual Enchantment in the Forest dance and she just fell asleep!"

Raven shrugged. "So? Briar's the daughter of Sleeping Beauty. She always falls asleep at random times. Just wake her up."

"But she won't wake up! I tried everything! And it's so royally not like her to fall asleep during party planning! This is Briar we're talking about!"

Raven, Maddie, and Cerise gasped.

"Oh, man! This is serious!" said Cerise.

"What's the big deal?" asked Ben.

"The big deal is that Briar is doomed to fall asleep for a hundred years just like her mom!" Cerise said.

"A hundred years?!" Ben exclaimed.

Maddie nodded. "That's right. So she makes the best of the few years she has before the big snooze by throwing parties, zip-lining, hextreme sports, you name it, she'll do it!"

"And without her, however are we going to plan the most epic dance yet?!" Apple said with woe. She gasped with her eyes wide. "What if she never wakes up?!"

The sound of laughter was heard and a girl appeared in a cloud of gray smoke. Her skin was greyish and sparkling. She had platinum blonde hair with a teal streak held in a high ponytail. She had small crystalline wings on her back. "Having sweet dreams, fellow fairy tales?"

"Faybelle!" Raven said. "I take it your responsible for this?"

"Of course, just typical Dark Fairy stuff. Not that _you_ would understand." Faybelle said with a pretty shrug. "With Briar, the best party planner in school fast asleep, the Enchantment in the Forest dance will have to be cancelled. Too bad, so sad."

"You better fix this!" Cerise growled.

Faybelle arched her brow. "Or what, Riding hood? You'll tell your grandma on me?"

Cerise balled her fists.

"Besides, it's just a little sleeping spell. Briar will be out by...the next two weeks or so."

"Two weeks?! But the dance is two more days!" Apple said.

"Not my problem, see ya!" And the winged mean girl flew right out the door.

"Now what do we do?!" Apple said. "I know! I'll go get Madame Yaga! She'll know what to do!" And the young princess took off.

"I hope Briar wakes up." Raven said. "The Enchantment in the Forest dance is one of the biggest parties of the school year!"

Ben looked over to Briar and got an idea. "I think I can wake her up." He looked around. "But can you guys keep a secret?"

"Uh, sure." Raven said.

Ben activated the Omnitrix and slammed it down. The girls watched in astonishment as Ben's body was covered in a bright green glow and he turned into a small white, frog-like creature.

It was Echo Echo.

"Ben?!" Raven gasped. "What...?!"

"I'll explain later." the little alien said. Echo Echo duplicated himself until they completely surrounded Briar. "You might want to cover your ears."

The girls did as told. The Echo Echos took a deep breath and let out high frequency, sonic blasts at Briar.

The girls closed their ears as tight as they can from the painfully loud noise.

Briar's face cringed and she woke up, holding her ears. "OOOOOWWWW! OKAY! OKAY! I'M UP!"

Echo Echo stopped and they returned to one Echo Echo. Ben turned to his human form and went up to Briar. "Are you okay?"

Briar uncovered her ears. "Yeah...thanks for waking me up." It was a miracle her ears were still working.

Ben smiled knowing that the innocent girl was saved, but when he was the shocked faces of his friends, he sighed. "Yeah, I know. I have some explaining to do."


	4. Sweet and Sour

**Here's my Thanksgiving treat from me to all of you! Enjoy this chapter and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!**

* * *

Ben followed Raven, Cerise and Maddie down a steep staircase to the ground floor of the school. They made their way outside to an alley behind the school dumpsters. Rotting trash and filth were gathered here with a foul stench.

Ben gagged and held his nose. "Why'd we have to come here to talk?!"

"You said you wanted to talk in private and no one in their right mind would ever come here." Maddie said.

"So, spill it." Cerise said. "How did you just do what you did?!"

Ben took a deep breath. "Well, you see this watch on my wrist?" He showed them the Omnitrix. "It's not really a watch. It's called the Omnitrix. It holds the DNA of over a million aliens."

"Aliens?!" Raven said, eyes wide. "Like, from outer space kind of aliens?!"

Ben nodded. "Yep. And this device makes it so I can transform into any one of those aliens."

"WOW!" Maddie said. "Now that is madness! But why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"Because I wanted you guys to like me for me and not this thing!" Ben told them. "Back home, people didn't care about me at all, just my powers. And I don't want anyone else finding out about the Omnitrix. Because if they did, it's gonna be big trouble."

Raven affectionately put a hand on Ben's shoulder. "Don't worry, Ben. You're secret's safe with us."

"So, how many aliens can you turn into?" Cerise asked.

"A...lot!" Ben said. "I don't even know where to start!"

Raven's mirror phone rang and she answered right away. "Hello?"

"Raven! It's Apple! Briar woke up! It's a miracle!" Apple said. "I thought she was doomed for a whole two week sleep!"

"Yeah," Raven nervously chuckled. "I guess Faybelle's spell wasn't strong enough. Anyway, I've got to go. Spell you later." She quickly hung up.

"Well, thanks to you, Ben, the Enchantment in the Forest dance is saved!" Maddie cheered.

Ben smiled. "Glad to help. And hey, maybe I can help with the dance!"

"Well, Ginger said she needs some taste testers for the refreshments she's making for the dance!" Cerise said with a look of great anticipation.

Ben licked his lips. "I'm sold!"

Raven chuckled. "Not so fast, Cerise. We still have class remember?"

Cerise slumped. "Oh..."

"Don't worry, Cerise. I'll save you some goodies." Ben said with a wink. "So, where do I find this Ginger?"

"Knowing Ginger, she's in the Throne Economics kitchen." Raven lifted her hands and wiggled her fingers. "I'll get you there with my magic."

"Raven! NO!" Cerise said.

"Remember what happens when you use your magic for good?!" Maddie said.

"What? What happens?" asked Ben.

"Well..." Raven started sheepishly. "I have dark magic, so when I use my powers with good intentions, the spell doesn't go right. But I'm getting better at it."

Ben just shrugged. "Well, Raven, you never know until you try. Go for it! Zap me to that kitchen!"

Cerise and Maddie just stared.

"Ben, you're the bravest boy I ever met." Cerise said with amazement.

The teen hero grinned. "It's what I do. Okay, Raven. Lay it on me!"

"Okay." Raven's hands glowed with purple magic. As she began casting her spell, things around Ben started glowing purple. Ben felt a warm, fuzzy feeling around him.

"It's working, Raven!" Ben said. "It's wor-"

 **POOF!**

The next moment, Ben was in mid air! He screamed as he fell onto a hard floor. Pots and pans scattered all around him. A scream was heard.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" a girl's voice shouted.

Ben looked up and saw a girl with long hot pink hair in two low pigtails, brown skin and pink glasses over her brown eyes. She wore a small cupcake hat and a pink and yellow sparkly, sprinkle decorated dress. She held up a rolling pin to defend herself with.

"Oh! Hi, sorry about that." Ben said shyly as he stood up. "Are you Ginger?"

"Yeah and who are you?!" Ginger asked, raising her rolling pin.

Ben held his hands up. "Relax, I come in peace." He smiled. "Raven sent me here to taste test your sweets for the dance." He stuck his hand out. "My name's Ben, by the way."

Ginger eventually relaxed and put the rolling pin down. "Well, anything to feed a hungry face." The sweet looking girl presented a plate of freshly baked cupcakes.

Ben took a good whiff. "Mmm! Those smell delicious!" He was ready to grab one and put it in his mouth when suddenly,

"I wouldn't eat that if I were you."

Ben's hand froze and turned to see that Faybelle girl leaning lazily against the open door.

Ginger gritted her teeth. "Faybelle! Go away!"

"And let you poison this innocent young man? Not a chance!" She flapped her way towards Ben and hooked her arm around his neck. "If you value your life, don't eat _anything_ Ginger makes!" Faybelle hissed in Ben's face. "Her mother is the Candy Witch from Hansel and Gretel!"

Furious, Ginger opened her mouth to give Faybelle a stern talking to. But before she could, Ben unhooked himself from Faybelle's arm. "I don't care if Ginger's mom is a fire breathing dragon!" he told the human sized fairy. "I'm not scared of witches or their cupcakes!"

He swiped a cupcake and took a big bite. An explosion of sweetness came to Ben's tongue. "MMM! These are fantastic!" He took a few more. "You're a real kick butt cook!"

Ginger smiled brighter than her dress. "Thanks!" She giggled with glee.

Faybelle angrily put her hands on her hips. "Who do you think you are?!"

Ben swallowed some cupcake before he spoke. "More importantly, who do you think _you_ are?!" he snapped. "First, you put a sleeping spell on that Briar girl, then you bluff about Ginger poisoning me! Do you have nothing better to do with your life?!"

Ginger gasped. Faybelle's face cringed with fury. "You don't even know who I am, do you?" She lifted herself off the ground as a glowing blue aura came off her. "I am Faybelle Thorn! Daughter of the Dark Fairy!" her voice became deep and demonic.

Without a hint of fear, Ben arched his eyebrow. "What's a Dark Fairy?"

Faybelle's aura faded and she scoffed. "Seriously? You don't know what a dark fairy is? You must not get out of your cave much." she said in her normal snide voice. She returned to the ground. "The Dark Fairy is only the baddest villain of them all! And unlike that Rebel Queen Raven and too sweet for comfort Ginger, I'm going to be the meanest, nastiest, most infamous villain ever after! I will be the queen of fairies and the queen of villains! Why? Because I RULE!"

Ben was not pleased at all. "Sounds like a waste of talent to me. Why would you even want to be bad?"

Faybelle smirked. "Because being bad is like, the best! When your destiny is to be a villain at Ever After High, you can cause trouble and mischief and not get in trouble for it!"

"And to think, all this just because your mom wasn't invited to a stupid little party." Ginger said with a scowl.

"Stupid or not, the last thing you want to do is forget to invite a dark fairy!" Faybelle said. "Everyone in the land was invited to Sleeping Beauty's big birthday bash _except_ my mother! It's only fair that she cursed that prissy pink princess to sleep for a hundred years! And the same thing is gonna happen to Briar!"

Ben grew more disgusted with Faybelle with every passing second.

"Well, I've spent enough time down here in Loser Lane. I'm going to miss cheerhexing practice." said the future Dark Fairy. "It's been a real slice." And Faybelle flew off, leaving a trail of fairy dust behind.

Ben was stiff miffed. "Gwen was right. Cheerleaders are evil."

"Don't let Faybelle get to you. That's exactly what she wants." Ginger said. "I don't want to stoop to her level here but we were actually friends at one point when we were kids."

"You're kidding."

Ginger shook her head. "Nope. But when Faybelle got caught up in her destiny and her mother's pride, she stopped being my friend and saw me as competition. She just...abandoned our friendship."

Ben felt a twinge of guilt from Ginger's words. He thought of his friends back home. Was he abandoning them too?

"By the way," Ginger said, snapping Ben out of his thoughts. "Thanks for not being afraid of me."

Ben smiled. "Hey, how could I be afraid of a sweet thing like you? You're no evil witch to me." He took another bite of cupcake.

"Thanks, I just want to bake for everyone and have my own cooking show. Because good food brings people together from far and wide. That is my dream."

"Well, these cupcakes are to die for. So, you're off to a great start!" Ben said, mouth filled with cupcake.

"Sounds like you approve of Ginger's treats." Raven said as she, Cerise and Maddie came in.

Ben licked the frosting off his fingers. "Yup!"

"Let's say we head to Hocus Latte?" Cerise suggested.

"Yeah!" the girls agreed.

"I'm in!" Ben said. The girls laughed seeing the frosting on his face.

* * *

At Hocus Latte, Ben was even more amazed. It was like a coffee shop with an outdoorsy feel, but the waitresses were small fairies! It was such a cozy place, Ben felt right at home.

After the lattes, Ben and the girls went to the Enchanted Forest to watch the sunset. And a spectacular sunset it was.

"So, how was your first day at Ever After, Ben?" asked Maddie.

"At first, I didn't want to stay. But now, I don't think I want to leave." Ben said sadly.

"You mean you don't like your home?" Cerise asked.

Thinking back on what happened before stumbling onto this world, Ben shook his head. How could he possibly show his face in Bellwood again? "No, not really. But I don't have anywhere else to go."

It only took a second for Maddie to think of a good idea. "I know! Why don't you stay at my dad's tea shop? We could always use some extra help!"

Ben stuck his hand out. "Maddie, you got yourself a deal!"

And the young hero and future mad hatter shook hands, cementing their agreement.


	5. The Cat and the Vision

That night, Ben found it a bit strange sleeping in a tea shop. But the hatter was more than kind enough welcoming Ben as his new hired help. He showed Ben to his room. "Here you are, my boy!"

The walls were checkered in a wavy flow, the furniture was curvy and crazy looking. At least the bed looked decently comfortable.

Ben hopped onto the bed. It was very soft and cozy. "Thanks again for the room on such short notice, Mr. Hatter."

Mad Hatter chuckled with a great chortle. "It's my pleasure! If a frog spots a dog in a misty fog, would he let it sit inside the log?"

Ben just stared blankly. "Uh..."

The hatter laughed. "Very good! Ta-ta!" And he slammed the door shut.

Ben shrugged. "At least he's a lot nicer than Mr. Baumann." He closed his eyes and within seconds, Ben was fast asleep.

But a few hours later, Ben woke up in the middle of the night. He stared up at the dizzying checkered ceiling, pondering if this was the right thing he was doing. Should he stay here in Ever After? Or go back to his home in Bellwood?

As Ben pondered, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

He got up and looked around the room. "Hey, if anyone's in here, I'm trying to get some sleep."

And then a mouth, just a mouth, appeared next to Ben's ear. "If you were trying to sleep, you would be asleep by now."

Ben jumped and tumbled out of his bed. He heard a mischievous little giggle and a girl faded into view. She had long lavender hair tied up in high curly twintails and wore a cat shaped hat on her head and had a purple and black night dress on.

But what Ben was really staring at were her sleek, blue cat-like eyes. They seemed to pin him in place.

This mysterious girl smiled wide at Ben's stunned reaction. "My, what a jumpy little mouse you are."

"Who are you?!" Ben said, reaching for the Omnitrix.

The girl kept smiling. "Relax, I'm just here to see the famous Ben Tennyson my roommate Maddie keeps yammering about." She strutted up to Ben, who backed up until he was against the wall. He pushed even further when the catty girl came mere inches from his face.

"Kitty Cheshire, daughter of the Cheshire Cat." she purred, gently running a long blue painted nail under Ben's chin.

Ben's face turned hot. "Cheshire cat?! I thought the Cheshire cat was an actual cat!"

Kitty laughed an unsettling laugh. "Oh, right. And I guess the White Rabbit is always on time." Kitty kept smiling that big smile.

"Why are you smiling like that?!" Ben said, annoyed and creeped out.

Kitty giggled. "My favorite riddle." she said. "The answer's simple. Because smiling makes people wonder. Such as much when you're a Cheshire." She got real close. "Cats also has instincts. And you, my little mouse, despite your normal visage, I sense something unlike any other in you. It really makes this kitty purr..."

Ben felt his heart pounding. Despite being a sketchy cat girl, she was also very beautiful. But Ben had to be cool.

"Look, Kitty. I'm new here and I don't want any trouble." he told her.

"Aw, trying to declaw me?" Kitty put a hand to Ben's chest and slowly raked her nails down Ben's stomach. Ben quivered and giggled a little.

"Oh? Ticklish, my little mouse?" Kitty scribbled on Ben's tummy. He laughed and jumped away from the pretty kitty.

"Okay! That's enough!" Ben said, embarrassed.

The bedroom door was kicked open and the hatter came in holding a lit candlestick. "Kitty! I know your curious and it's in your nature, but now's not the time for your Cheshire pranks on our guest. It is a school night." he warned her.

Kitty pouted and crossed her arms. "Okay, fine. I just wanted to meet our new friend." She turned and smiled at Ben. "See you around." She waved goodbye and vanished away.

"Sounds like Kitty likes you!" The hatter said.

"No kidding..." Ben said. Boy, did he attract the weirdest girls.

"You mustn't fear Kitty. She's a fellow Wonderlandian like me and my Maddie." He smiled. "You must be something special if she fancies you."

Ben shook his head. "I don't know about that."

It was a challenge for Ben to get back to sleep after his encounter with Kitty. But Ben eventually did and had a nice, deep, long sleep.

* * *

The next morning,

 **GONG!**

Ben woke up in alarm and tumbled out of his bed yet again. It was the hatter holding a gong. "Rise and shine! The birds sing without a whimper or whine!"

Been grumbled as he rubbed his sore bottom. "Okay, okay..."

"You better get a move on or you'll be late for class!" Hatter sang triumphantly.

"What?! You mean at Ever After High? But I'm not a student!"

"Nope, but my Maddie had a vision and wanted you to come to school with her! How hexciting!"

"A vision?" Ben said.

Once Ben was washed up and ready to go. He went straight to Ever After High where Maddie was waiting for him. "Mornin', Ben!"

"So, what's this about a vision you saw, Maddie?" asked Ben. "And since when can a mad hatter see into the future?"

Maddie shrugged a little. "Weeell, I should start from the start. You see, this world is so crazy that I sometimes see through the madness and into the future!"

"So...what was the vision?"

"Okay! I looked in my hat and saw monsters! All sorts of hideous, horrifying, nightmarish monsters!" she said in a frightening manner. She took a deep breath. "And since you turn into monsters and all, I thought you knew anything about that." she said quick and calm.

"First of all, I turn into aliens, not monsters." Ben corrected. "And second, there's nothing to fear here. I used to battle evil aliens and monsters on a daily basis. But here, there aren't any. And that's the beauty of it. No aliens causing trouble or making us humans look dumb!"

"Really?" Maddie said. "Sounds like you had it pretty rough back home."

"No kidding." Ben said. "I say dump the visions and focus on the present. So...what kind of classes do fairy tales take?"

Maddie began counting them off. "Well, there's Princessology, a class only for princesses, Chemythstry, my personal favorite! And there's General Villainy for villain characters-"

"Whoa! Back up!" Ben interrupted. "There's a class for villains?"

Maddie nodded. "That's right. Unfortunately, Raven has to take it. The faculty hopes Raven will change her mind about being a rebel." She rolled her eyes. "Talk about a fairy fail."

"So...who teaches a villains class?" Ben asked.

"Mr. Badwolf!" Maddie said. "You probably heard of him from his long history of terrorizing little pigs, grandmothers, and Red Riding Hood!" Maddie looked over Ben's shouder. "Here he comes now!"

Ben turned and saw a man with dark hair that was slightly graying and dark yellow eyes wearing a tan woodsman coat and old jeans. He glowered seeing Maddie and this strange boy he's never seen before.

Being the nice hatter Maddie is, she waved and smiled. "Good morning, Mr. Badwolf!"

Despite her friendly greeting, Mr. Badwolf growled and morphed into a tall, grey furred wolf!

"Out of my way!" he snapped.

Ben and Maddie immediately backed away. Badwolf shot Ben a dirty look before walking off.

"I don't think he likes me." said Ben.

Maddie shrugged. "When you've been a villain as long as Badwolf, rudeness just comes naturally to you." she explained casually.

Ben shook his head. "Wonders never cease here."

"Oh! Speaking of wonder, how'd you like to join my fellow Wonderlandians for a tea party in Wonderland grove?"

"Wonderland Grove?" Ben echoed.

"That's right. Let's go!" Maddie said. "But first, we need to bring a special guest! Follow me!"

* * *

Ben followed Maddie outside to a perfectly manicured playing field. As soon as they got there, they heard a voice shout,

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

Ben flinched and saw a girl with black and red hair partially tied into a heart shaped bump. She wore a red, black and gold dress that complimented her gold heart crown and held a flamingo shaped mallet over her head, ready to take a good swing.

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" the girl screamed as she knocked the croquet ball through a series of wickets.

Her words clued Ben to who she was right away. "Is that who I think it is?"

"That depends, who is she?" Maddie said.

Ben gave her a look.

Maddie giggled. "Just kidding! It's Lizzie Hearts, daughter of the Queen of Hearts, heir to the Wonderland throne and very good friend of mine."

"Friend?" Ben said, confused. "But isn't the Queen of Hearts the bad guy?"

"BAD GUY?!" Lizzie screeched. She whacked the ball and almost hit Ben. But reacting sharply, he dodged it in time.

"HEY!" Ben shouted.

Lizzie walked poised and regal towards Ben. "You have quite the gall to say such a thing! My mother was never a "bad guy" as you say."

"Yeah, in fact, the phrase OFF WITH YOUR HEAD! is just common courtesy." Maddie said.

"Indeed." Lizzie said. "If someone brings me tea, I simply shout OFF WITH YOUR HEAD! Or if I win at cards, I congratulate them with a good OFF WITH YOUR HEAD! See? It's simple. The problem is, normal people take it far too literally here. It's hard to fit in when people only see things in black and red."

"Here! Here!" Maddie said. "Why don't we discuss more at out tea party?"

Lizzie smiled. "I'd love to!"

On the edge of Ever After High grounds, Ben was in complete awe when they arrived at Wonderland Grove. It was a puzzling piece of wilderness with a myraid of Wonderlandish plants. It was like a mix of the Mad Hatter's Tea Shop and a flower garden.

"What's this?" Ben walked over to what appeared to be a red rose bush, but he noticed the roses were wet with...red paint?

"Ah, you've spotted the freshly painted rose bushes." said Lizzie.

" _Painted_ rose bushes?" Ben said.

"Precisely." said Lizzie. "Wonderland Grove is basically a mini Wonderland for us as well as the source of all magical madness in our world."

"And Lizzie tends to the garden all by herself!" Maddie added, pulling out a table, chairs and tea supplies from her hat.

Ben turned to Lizzie. "You take care of all this?!"

"Of course, when Wonderland was nearly destroyed by the Evil Queen, this grove was the only thing left of my home..." Lizzie's face saddened.

"Wait a minute! What do you mean nearly destroyed?!" Ben said.

Maddie looked sad as well. "Well, Raven's mom, the Evil Queen infected Wonderland's madness and poisoned Lizzie's mom into total madness! The bad kind of madness! We had to escape and took refuge here in Ever After."

Ben was shocked. Raven's mom did that to their home?! "So...what's happening in Wonderland now?"

To Ben's surprise, the girls smiled. "Well, it's the most Wonderlandiful thing! Raven actually lifted her mother's curse on Wonderland!" Maddie said.

"Yes! Raven saved Wonderland! She's a hero in all out hearts!" said Lizzie.

"She did? Wow..." Ben smiled, he blushed a little. "Raven sure is amazing." To think, the daughter of the Evil Queen was such a hero. He liked Raven more and more.

Seeing Ben blushing, Maddie got one of her tea-riffic ideas. "I know, Ben! why don't you ask Raven to the Enchantment in the Forest dance?"

"What?! No! I can't do that!" Ben insisted.

"Why not?" Lizzie asked. "Anything is possible in a fairy tale."

"Besides, you can just go as friends." Maddie said.

Ben's eyes perked up. "Well...I guess we can just go as friends. Alright! I'll do it! I'm gonna ask Raven out!"


	6. The Big Reveal

Ben ran back to the school with Maddie and Lizzie running after him.

"Why must you run, Ben?!" Lizzie called after Ben.

"Because I want to hurry and ask Raven out before anyone else does!" Ben said, running past a group of school girls. "She's bound to have a flock of boys asking her out!"

"Don't be so sure!" Maddie yelled.

But Ben was already past the doors. He looked back and forth for Raven. "Where's the lunch room again?!"

"The castleteria?" Lizzie said, huffing. She pointed. "Over there-"

Ben ran to the doors and in the castleteria, there were tons of students. There was Ginger sitting with Cerise, Faybelle with Duchess, and Raven...by herself?

"Huh? Why is Raven sitting all by herself?" Ben wondered out loud.

"That's what I've been trying to tell you." Lizzie said. "Since Raven's mom was so evil, a lot of people are afraid of her, especially the boys. So, romance is something she's not used to."

Ben froze. Time stood still. Raven was never loved by any boy? She must feel exactly how Ben felt in Bellwood! Maybe there was hope for Ben and Raven! Maybe they could have a happily ever after together!

Already sailing on cloud nine, Ben hurried to Raven's table. Just then, a blue eyed blonde girl approached him. "Excuse me, are you the mystery man Ben Ten-"

But Ben ran right past her and kept moving.

Ben pushed and shoved through many people. He pushed aside a brown haired boy and finally made it to his goal. He smacked his hands on the table. "Raven! There you are!" He panted with relief and happiness.

Raven went still seeing Ben looking deliriously happy. "Uh, what's up, Ben?" She wiped a little food off her berry lips.

Ben felt the eyes of many students looking at him. They were shocked to see this boy they've never seen before talking to the Evil Queen's daughter. He swallowed. "Raven Queen," he said. He was so nervous. "W-W-Will you go to the Enchantment in the Forest dance with me tomorrow?"

There were gasps all around. Some people even took out their phones to record this!

Raven was just as surprised. "Oh! Uh, sure, I-I'd love to." Raven started to smile. "I mean, no one's asked me out yet. So I'd love to go with you. I'll see you at six?" She was just as nervous as Ben!

"Great! I'll see you there!" Ben said, flushed with success.

The blonde girl Ben bluntly ignored came right up to him holding up a MirrorPad. "Hex it out, my MirrorCast audience! Ben Tennyson, the rumored mystery man has just asked Raven Queen out to the dance! Can you please tell us why Raven, the Evil Queen's daughter, of all the girls in school?"

"Uh, how about you tell me who you are first." Ben said.

"Why, I'm Blondie Lockes. And just like my mom Goldilocks, I'm searching for perfection. I'm a journalist with my MirrorCast 'Just Right'."

"Just Right?" Ben repeated.

"Right!" Blondie chirped. "Now, please tell us, why Raven Queen?!"

"I chose Raven because she's an awesome girl." Ben simply told Blondie. "She's really smart and talented. Not evil like others say she is."

But Blondie kept interviewing. "And what about you? There are all sorts of rumors buzzing about you! Where did you come from? Are you a transfer? What's _your_ story, Ben Tennyson?"

Normally, Ben's all about interviews. But with his fresh start and new life, he had to keep his old life and the Omnitrix a secret. So he put on a cool face and shrugged. "I'm just a drifter from out of town." he said calmly. "Just your average Joe with a taste for adventure. But enough about me. What about you, Blondie? You're really going to be the next Goldilocks? I mean, you're comfortable with the whole...bear situation and all?"

"Oh, of course I am!" Blondie said with a happy face. "Some stories are too short, some too long, but my story is perfect!" she said quite annoyingly cheerful. "Not to mention, I'm also fairy tale royalty!"

"You? Hah!" Duchess honked. "Everyone knows Goldilocks is NOT royalty, Blondie!" She coldly glared at the journalist. "And what's this about your story being perfect? You get chased out by angry bears for breaking into their house and wrecking their stuff! What's so great about that?

"Yeah! Face it, Curly, your story stinks." Faybelle sniped.

"Yeah, it reeks of porridge and common folk, just like you!" Duchess added. She and Faybelle laughed and high-fived.

Blondie's fingernails dug into her palms. "Oh, yeah? Look who's talking, Ms. 'I'm doomed to be cursed into a swan's body forever'!"

Now Duchess was honking mad. She and Blondie were so busy arguing that Ben took the chance to slip away.

"Ben?"

The teen turned and saw Raven. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, it's just that I had to get away from that interview before everyone got to know me too well. If you know what I mean..." Ben pointed to the Omnitrix. "I don't want to make any enemies here."

"What kind of enemies did you face where you came from?" Raven asked.

"All kinds. And they were all more evil and twisted than Duchess and Faybelle put together." Ben said. "Some wanted to steal the Omnitrix, rule the universe, well, my universe and even destroy me. But now that I'm here, I don't have to worry about them making me miserable anymore. I used to use my Omnitrix to help people, but I just keep making mistakes and messing things up."

Ben began to feel sad all over again. "In fact, a lot of aliens aren't really grateful to me for helping them. They always take me for granted. They-"

"DRAGON!" someone shouted. Screams of terror were coming from the castleteria. Ben and Raven rushed back in and there was a huge, scaly, dragon breathing fire all over the place!

Apple ran away but slipped on some spilled food. She tried to get away but the dragon was coming right at her!

"APPLE!" Raven cried out.

Acting on reflex, Ben charged at the beast and activated the Omnitrix and turned into Big Chill.

The remaining students gaped at what they were seeing. The alleged 'average Joe', morphed into a blue, moth-like creature! Big Chill swooped down and picked up Apple, saving her just in time. He carried her outside the castleteria with Raven.

Angry, the dragon came after him and opened his fanged jaw. Big Chill was more than ready for him.

The dragon released a stream of fire. But Big Chill exhaled a mighty blast of his frozen breath. The dragon's fire became extinguished.

"Alright, Lizard boy." Big Chill breathed out. "FREEZE!" He charged at the mythical beast, phasing into it's body.

At first, the dragon felt nothing. Then it felt cold, then very cold. So cold, ice began to form on it's body! Big Chill was freezing the dragon from the inside! The creature roared. But soon the ice rose up from it's neck until the head was encased in ice.

The dragon became frozen solid.

Big Chill emerged from the dragon. But he was less than happy to see the shocked and scared looks of the students. But as Ben was about to leave, Apple came up and hugged him. "Ben, you saved my life!" She looked at him in fascination. "But, what are you?!"

Ben felt frozen himself. He looked at Raven, hoping to help him. But instead, Raven gave a nod.

Knowing what she meant, Ben took a deep breath and returning Apple's hug. He pulled apart from Apple and let the Omnitrix time out. Ben returned to his human form, further shocking the crowd of students.

Ben knew what he had to do next. "Everyone, I know this is a lot to take in, but I'm not the average Joe like I said I was. I'm able to transform into aliens. I didn't want to tell anyone because I thought you would hate me and fear me. Back home, I would try to use my powers to help people, but I always end up make things worse and nothing I did made a difference."

"But you did make a difference!" Cerise said. "If you weren't here, that dragon could have crushed Apple! Because of you, you saved her life and the school from that dragon!"

Raven came up to Ben. "And you're fearless too. You were one of the few people who was never afraid of me."

"And being different is nothing to be ashamed of." Maddie said as she walked up to Ben. "Everyone is different, but that's what makes everyone special."

Ben shook his head. "No, Maddie. I'm just too different for this world. I'm leaving. And I hope you all forgive me." He turned to leave until a hand grabbed his.

It was Apple White. "Why in the world would you leave?" She smiled. "You've earned your place here."

"Now that's just right!" Blondie said. She took Ben's hand. "I don't hate you at all, Ben!"

"Me neither!" Ginger said.

"Me neither!" Raven said.

Soon, all the students agreed and broke into cheers and applause, thanking Ben for his help.

Well, most of the students. Faybelle just frowned. "Whatever-after." And she flew away.

Words could not express the happiness Ben felt. No one hated him, no one feared him, everything was peaceful once more.

Maddie watched happily as Ben was being thanked and hugged by his friends.

Kitty Cheshire faded right next to Maddie.

"Why do I get the feeling you have something to do with this?" Maddie said with a knowing smile.

Kitty checked her nails. "What? I just thought teasing a dragon and luring it here to school would be pretty funny." She looked at Ben. "Besides, I wanted to know if my instincts were right about that boy being special."

"He is special, and you helped him bring it out." Maddie deduced.

Kitty shrugged. But smiled very proudly.


	7. Matters of the Heart

It was finally here. The day of the Enchantment in the Forest dance, Ben was more than ready. Things have really changed for him yesterday once his secret got out. He had become popular all over again! And nobody feared him or hated him.

And tonight, he was ready for his date with destiny, his own destiny with Raven Queen.

But his destiny planning had to be on hold because he was called in by Apple to do a little chore for her.

"So, is this gonna take long, Apple?" asked Ben. "I have to get ready for the dance tonight!"

"Oh, it won't be long. Professor Knight, who teaches Hero Training, specifically requested you to help train his students."

Ben's face lit up. "Hero Training?! Now that sounds like my kind of class!"

Apple and Ben arrived at what looked like a huge jousting field. A tall man in armor came up to them. The first thing he did was kneel before Apple White. "Greetings, your royal Highness."

Apple did a polite curtsy. "Thank you, Professor Knight. I brought Ben for you."

"Very good."

Apple smiled and walked away. "Good luck, Ben."

Professor Knight rose up and looked down at Ben. "Now, Sir Tennyson. I have requested thou here to mentor my students in combat. A hero must be prepared for anything. And since thou are a friendly changeling, you will be perfect in versatile combat."

"If that's what you want, Professor, I'll do it." Ben said. "So, let's get started."

"Very well. These are my students." Professor Knight presented Ben to three knights in armor. Ben noticed that one of them was wearing white armor.

"There's one missing!" Professor Knight growled. "Where is Dexter Charming?!"

"Coming Professor Knight!"

A brown haired, bespectacled boy in armor came clamoring his way to join the group. However, he tripped and fell. One of the students laughed. He lifted his visor up, revealing his handsome face, short blonde hair and grey blue eyes. "Having trouble with the new armor, little bro?"

Ben glared at the blonde boy and went over to help the boy he presumed was Dexter. "Are you alright, dude?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." the boy adjusted his glasses. "I'm Dex, Dexter Charming. I see you've met my brother Daring."

Daring smiled and pointed a finger gun.

"Order, everyone!" Professor Knight said. "We are here to learn to save lives! Protect the innocent and save those in distress! Those are the true essentials of being a hero!"

Ben was liking this class more and more.

"Now, Sir Tennyson is going to be our combat creature. Ben, feel free to transform into any creature."

"Alright." Ben tried to find the right alien to be on his Omnitrix. He chose a good one and slammed down on his watch.

The students went wide eyed and Dexter gulped when Ben became a tall, red skinned, four armed creature. It was Four Arms, a classic transformation.

Four Arms grinned and cracked his knuckles. "So, who's ready to rock?"

Daring was the first to charge. "HAVE AT THEE!" he battle-cried as he charged at Ben and swung his sword.

Four Arms just grabbed the sword, yanked it from Daring's grip, and snapped it with his thumb.

Daring just stood there, quite shocked.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, Pretty boy." said Four Arms.

Many have tried their hits and swings at Four Arms. But they all ended up getting their weapons crushed and their swords broken. They tried going at the alien bare handed, but to no avail. Ben pinned each one down until they all yielded.

Professor Knight decided to call it a day. "That's enough, class!"

The guys got up and decided to hit the showers. The White Knight, however, approached Ben. The hero expected the knight to demand a rematch. But instead, he took off his helmet.

The knight was actually a she!

And a very striking she, with long and wavy platinum blonde hair with blue streaks tied back in a small bump, her blue eyes twinkled.

"That was some spelltacular training!" the girl told a stunned Ben, her voice sweet and dainty. "The name's Darling Charming, by the way."

"Uh, thanks..." Four Arms hit the Omnitrix dial and became Ben again. "But I gotta say, you guys put up quite a fight." Ben couldn't help but blush a little from Darling's beauty.

Darling smiled. "Yeah, but I wish I was like you. I bet you go on all kinds of adventures!"

Dexter came up to them. He adjusted his glasses. "And that device of yours is amazing!" His blue eyes wide with wonder. "I never would have imagined technology like this even existed! It's incredible!"

Ben became proud. "Thanks, I take it you're more of a tech savvy guy?"

"Well, yeah." Dexter said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm not much of a hero type of guy."

"What are you talking about, Dex?" Darling said, giving him a playful slap on his chest plate. "You are a hero. You help lots of people when their technology is broken or not working. Plus you've always been a real brother to me while Daring's too busy admiring his reflection or having every girl in school wrapped around his finger. Daring wishes he was half the hero you are."

"Thanks, sis." Dexter said, smiling.

Ben smiled too. He kind of saw himself in Dexter. And Darling was so sweet and loyal. She reminded Ben of Gwen or his Grandpa Max or Kevin or-

"Hey, Ben!"

Ben looked over and saw Raven and Maddie waving at them. "Hey, Dexter!" Raven said.

"Oh! Uh, h-hey, Raven!" Dexter called back. "H-How's it going?" he chuckled in a goofy way.

Ben heard the nervous tone in Dexter's voice. He watched Raven chat with Dexter and noticed how entranced and nervous Dexter looked at the same time.

"Well, spell you guys later. I'm off to Magicology class." Raven said and walked off.

Once Raven was gone,

"Dexter, do you like Raven?" Ben asked.

"Uh, well, uh..." Dexter just gave up and sighed. "Yeah, in fact, we just started dating."

Ben's stomach sank. "You...did?"

"Yeah, in fact, I was gonna ask Raven to the dance tonight. But you beat me to it." He looked very sad.

Now Ben felt completely awful. "I'm sorry, Dexter. I had no idea."

Dexter shook his head. "No, it's okay. I mean, just as long as you're going as friends...right?" He had a look that was filled with dread.

"Oh, well, yeah! Of course! We are just friends!" Ben implied. "I mean, I just met her a couple of days ago! It's hardly a date! Raven's just being my wing man! I mean, girl! Wing girl! You know what I mean?"

Dexter sighed. "Oh, that's good. Well, it's off to Advanced Wooing." Dexter rolled his eyes. "My favorite class..." he groaned.

Once Dexter left, Darling heard a sigh and saw Ben looking pretty down. "You okay?"

"Not really." He buried his face in his hands. "I think I just made the biggest mistake of my life. Well, one of the biggest mistakes of my life. But that's just like me, always making mistakes."

Deeply ashamed, Ben fell to his knees. "What's the matter with me?!" he cried. "Why can't I function like a normal human being?!"

"Whoa! Take it easy, Ben!" Darling said, kneeling beside him. "I may not know what happened to you in the past. But making mistakes doesn't mean something's wrong with you. It just means that you have to make things right!"

"But how?!" Ben said. "How can I possibly make things right?!"

"That's simple." Darling put a caring hand on Ben's shoulder. "First, you have to empty your head of all your doubts and grief. Because they cloud your mind and make you lose focus on what's really important. Next, listen to what your heart is trying to tell you. And finally, follow your heart and you will do the right thing."

Darling's advice really touched Ben to his core. "So...if I follow what my heart's telling me, I'll eventually do the right thing?"

"Exactly." Darling said. "Well, I'm gonna be late for Princessology." He helped the hero up. "I'm sure you know what do to. Trust yourself, Ben." And she dashed off.

Ben didn't need another second to ponder about what to do next. He knew exactly what to do. With a determined look on his face, he took off.

* * *

However, back at Bellwood, things were just terrible. Once word got out that Ben had gone missing, crime has run rampant. Innocent civilians stayed in their homes behind locked doors since it was too dangerous to even step outside.

Underneath Friedkin University, Gwen and Kai were examining the book.

Kevin and his alien dog Zed walked in. "Any luck?"

"No." Gwen shook her head. "This was the last thing Ben had before he disappeared, but no matter how many times I try to locate him, his mana just leads right to this book." Gwen said. "And I've tried every spell known to magic and I still can't unlock it! What if he's...gone for good?" She started to tremble.

Kevin put his arms around her. "Don't worry, baby. We just have to keep trying." he said. "But right now, you're gonna be late for class."

Sighing, Gwen took her backpack and supplies and was going to head out. She turned to Kai. "You coming?"

"No," Kai mumbled. She watched her friends walk off.

Kai was silent, aghast with anguish on what Bellwood has become without Ben. The more she thought about the day he vanished, the more guilt washed over her.

Kai left the campus, holding the book close to her heart. She looked and saw the town being turned upside down by criminals. Sure, the plumbers tried to fend them off, but they can only do so much.

Ben never would have left if it wasn't for her. She picked up the book and stared at it with grieving sorrow, it was all she had left to remember Ben. Then she thought of the day she met Ben six years ago...it was also the time she broke Ben's heart.

And now, thanks to her breaking his heart all over again, Ben was gone forever.

"This is all my fault..." Kai's lip quivered. She started to cry.

"Oh, is the baby gonna cry?" a gruff voice said mockingly.

Kai turned and saw two people she did not want to see. Exo-Skull and Subdora.

Kai wiped away her tears. "What do you two want?!" she sneered.

"What do we want?" Subdora said. "Revenge! That's what we want! We went through all this trouble of traveling back to the past so we can crush Tennyson together!" the lizard lady alien clenched her fists tightly. "But what's the point of getting revenge if Tennyson's not here?!"

Exo-Skull snorted. "Even though Maltruant is gone, that's doesn't mean we can't have some fun and finish Tennyson once and for all!"

"You mean, you guys came back here just to get revenge one Ben?!" Kai said. "You're not after this book?!"

"WHO CARES ABOUT A STUPID BOOK?!" Exo-Skull roared. "We just wanted to take it from you and make you cry just like we took your dumb bowling ball! Then Tennyson would come after us and then we would crush him!"

"But since he's gone, we'll just have to take our frustration out on you!" Subdora said. "Sure, it's misplaced aggression, but hey, what are you gonna do?"

Kai ran. She just ran. There was no way she was a match for those two monsters. She kept running until she saw an abandoned warehouse. She ran up the stairs and when she was at the top floor, she just fell to her knees, abandoning all hope.

"BEN! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Kai screamed to the heavens. Heartbroken, she started crying. If only she could Ben one more time...

Kai's heartfelt plea caused the book to glow. Through her tear-stung eyes, she watched the book unlock and open itself up.

A flash of light filled the warehouse and Kai was gone.


	8. True Love

The evening approached upon Ever After. It was the perfect evening for the Enchantment in the Forest dance.

Everyone was preparing for the big celebration tonight, almost everyone.

While most students were preparing themselves or decorating the school grimmnasium, a certain dark fairy was preparing to cause some chaos.

In her dorm room, Faybelle grinned wickedly as she looked through her Magicology book. "Let's see...there's got to be an evil spell in here that'll make this dance a total disaster!"

A knock came at her door. Irritated that her plotting has been interrupted, Faybelle slammed her book, tossed it aside and flew over to her door. When she opened it, her face was darkened with rage.

It was Ben.

"What do you want, Freakshow?" Faybelle sneered. "And it better be good."

Ben wasn't afraid of Faybelle or her wannabe villain act. "Fay, listen, I know you don't like me and all. But this is serious." Ben reached into his pocket and took out a shimmering green ticket. "This, is my ticket to the Enchantment in the Forest dance." he said. "I want you to have it."

Faybelle's eyes were wide as two spinning wheels. She couldn't say a word.

"You see, I can't make it to the dance tonight. There's a place I have to be. So, I can't go." Ben told her.

Faybelle lifted her hand, but she hesitated. "But...why me?"

"Well, there's a time and a place to be a villain, but I know that even dedicated villains like yourself need some time off." Ben said. "I can't think of anyone else to give this ticket to."

Ben placed the ticket in Faybelle's hand. "I better get going." He walked away, but not before turning to the fairy with a smile. "Have a good time, Faybelle." And the young hero took off.

Faybelle stared at the ticket in her hand. No one, not a single soul, has ever given her an invitation to anything. Whether it was a birthday, a wedding, or a school dance, it was the Dark Fairy's curse to never get invited to things.

But whether people intended to invite her or not, they just _forgot_ to invite her. That was the curse. And it frustrated Faybelle greatly.

And yet, here Faybelle was, holding an invitation to a special event. Nothing could have prepared her for this.

Once that was done, Ben set out for phase two of his plan. It did a bit of a search, but he eventually found Dexter at the boy's dorm. He knocked on his door.

"Come in." Dexter called. Ben opened the door and walked in. "Oh! Hey, Ben! What's up?"

"Dexter, I can't make it to the dance tonight." Ben said. "Do you think you can take my place and go with Raven?"

Dexter's eyes grew wider behind his glasses. "But why? Is something wrong?"

Ben shook his head. "No, it's just...well, I really like Raven. And I was hoping we could have a happy ending together, but I realized that I was about to take it all away from you. You and Raven should be together. After all, you saw her first. Besides, it's for the best."

Dexter was about to say something when Ben took off and left.

* * *

Now that Ben has done his part, he decided to be alone. He went to the one place where he thought he would find solitude; Wonderland Grove.

The grove was lit up by the soft glow of giant Wonderland mushrooms and flowers. The fireflies made the grove sparkle. It was a much better place to be than inside a school. Ben laid down among the painted red rose bushes and gazed at the night sky.

He pondered the stars as they twinkled. The beauty of space was a remarkable one, but will Ben ever see the sky in his world? Perhaps not...

"Ben?" a gentle girl's voice called.

Ben looked around to see who was there, he then looked up and saw a girl he's never seen before. She had long, pastel pink hair, wore a pink cloud dress, and had angel wings on her back. Was she an angel? Ben watched in fascination as the girl flew down from the trees and sat down beside him.

"Who are you?" asked Ben.

The girl smiled warmly. "I'm Cupid, adopted daughter of Eros, the god of love."

"God of love?" Ben questioned. "He's a fairy tale?"

Cupid shook her head. "No, I'm not a fairy tale, I'm a myth. It's my purpose to help people find love and their true heart's desires." She looked at Ben knowingly. "I saw what you did back there."

Ben turned away. "You did, huh?" he droned.

"That was a very sweet thing you did. But why do you look so sad?" asked the young goddess. "I can sense a broken heart within you. Does it involve someone from your world?"

"Yes, it does." Ben flopped down on the grass. "It's why I can't return home! There's this girl that some say I'm fated to be with in the future. But to be honest, I'm terrified of falling in love."

Cupid's blue eyes widened. "Terrified of love?! But why? Love isn't something to be feared!"

Ben got up and glared at her. "It is if you're me!" he said angrily. "I've had crushes before and they all turned out the same. Just when I thought she was the one, my rotten luck and stupidity got in the way and the girl leaves me! Some even became my enemies! I don't ever want to go through that again!"

Cupid could see Ben's eyes get watery. "And after what happened to Kai, how could I possibly show my face to her again? She almost got killed because me..." Tears started to fall down his cheeks. "I'm just not lovable! I'm too dangerous to be around! I don't deserve to be loved!"

Ben completely broke down, tears cascading from his eyes. He screamed and wailed in agony.

Cupid didn't say a word. She just put her arms around Ben in a comforting hug. Ben needed a shoulder to cry on. And luckily, Cupid's was very absorbent.

Once Ben's crying slowly died down, Cupid spoke. "Ben," she said. "I know you're upset about what happened. It's okay to cry, but you have to forgive yourself and move on. I'm sure Kai would understand if you just talked to her." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief.

Ben took the handkerchief and wiped his eyes. "No, she wouldn't. Some things were just not meant to be." He blew his nose. "I'll never find happiness."

"Don't be so sure."

Ben sniffled and turned to see Raven and Dexter of all people.

"Raven?! Dexter?! What are you doing here?!" Ben said, standing up. "Why aren't you guys at the dance?!"

"Dexter told me what happened." Raven said. "But that was before I met someone at the village this afternoon."

Raven looked over to a girl who was emerging from the woods.

It was Kai.

Ben's just froze. He wanted to run away. But Cupid held him still.

Kai's breath hitched and she ran right over to Ben. She threw her arms around him and started to sob. "I heard the whole thing." she said. "I'm sorry, Ben!"

But Ben pulled Kai off of him. "No, Kai. I'm the one who's sorry and I always will be. I'm just not the man anyone deserves. You never would have been hurt if it wasn't for me."

That's when Ben noticed that Kai's arm wasn't in a sling anymore. "Ben, my arm wasn't really broken. The doctor said it was only a minor stress fracture and I healed a lot faster than I thought."

She looked right into Ben's eyes. "Ben, what happened to me that day was nothing compared to how badly I treated you." she said from the bottom of her heart. "Physical wounds heal, but the ones in your heart are more difficult to recover from. And you've got the biggest heart I've ever seen. Raven told me what you've done around here. And even after all you've been through, you still have enough warmth in your heart to help people and do the right thing. You are a true hero."

Ben was still as a statue. A bomb would have blown up beside him and he wouldn't even care. All he knew, at that moment, Kai wasn't mad at him.

"And right now, Gwen, Kevin, your grandpa, Rook, and every Plumber in the galaxy is looking for you. They're all miserable without you." Kai said. "Not to mention the many innocent lives of our universe will need you when there's danger."

"She's right, Ben." Raven said, smiling. "Here, we can be our own heroes. So we can protect ourselves. And your world needs a hero more than any other universe."

Dexter adjusted his glasses. "And we all have our ups and down, but that's how life goes." the young prince said. "But in the end, helping others always helps yourself. That's what makes being a hero truly worth while."

Ben turned to Kai. The two teens looked deeply into their eyes. Ben pondered what to do while Kai anticipated Ben's next action.

"Y'know," Raven said, getting their attention. "It's a beautiful night and we're here in a pretty romantic spot." She smiled as she used her magic to conjure a guitar in her arms. Speakers and a standing microphone appeared in a cloud of purple smoke. "Perhaps we can have our own Enchantment in the Forest dance here."

With her guitar pick, Raven began playing a slow song. Her opened her mouth and began singing. Her voice was so enchanting.

Ben and Kai looked back at each other, unsure if this was really necessary.

Cupid saw their hesitation and waved her finger at the two teens. In less than an instant, their fear dissipated.

Ben offered his hand to Kai with a hopeful smile. "It's been a while since I've been to a dance."

Kai gave Ben a look, but she smiled and took his hand. "Why not?"

They smiled and put their arms around each other, swaying to Raven's song. But Ben felt Kai step on his foot.

"Sorry," Kai said, looking rather sheepish. "To tell you the truth, I've never really waltzed before."

Ben chuckled. "Don't worry, Gwen gave me some pointers. Just follow my lead." Ben began to dance and Kai picked up on the lesson fast.

It felt so magical, like part of a romantic story. It's as if Ben and Kai were starting their own fairy tale together.

Ben smiled. "Kai, I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"

"Only if you forgive me." Kai said, smiling back.

And what felt like the first time, Ben felt very, truly, happy. "I certainly will." He leaned towards Kai.

Kai closed her eyes and leaned in as well.

The two kissed. Very deeply.

Ben's entire being melting as he kissed. Kai felt just the same. She sagged into Ben's arms and held him tighter. She didn't want to let go.

But they both had to breath. So they pulled apart at last.

"Awesome." said Kai. They shared a hug.

Raven, Dexter and Cupid smiled proudly on a job well done.

Kai took in the spelltacular wonderland scenery. "This place is amazing. It's like a dream." Her smiled fell though. "But Bellwood kinda needs you right now."

Ben's smile also fell. "It's pretty bad back home, huh?"

"To say the least."

Ben turned to his fairytale friends. "Raven, I..."

Raven held her hand up. "Say no more, I'll take you home."

"But, I don't want to leave without saying goodbye to everyone." the hero said. "You've all been so good to me."

"Don't worry about the loose ends." Raven said. "I have a feeling we'll see you real soon."

"Yeah, you can visit us anytime, Ben." Dexter said.

Ben and Kai nodded to each other and held each other's hand. "Alright, Raven. Do your stuff."

Raven took a deep breath, concentrated hard. She held her hands out and a mist of dark magic swirled around the teen couple. Everything went purple and...

 **POOF!**


	9. Home Bittersweet Home

At Mr. Baumann's store, Vulkanus was sitting on a throne of canned goods while his pickax minions were devouring merchandise and turning the store into a pigsty.

Vulkanus snapped his fingers. "Another drink, human!" he ordered.

Mr. Baumann grumbled as he brought over a tall drink to the alien billionaire. With Ben out of the picture, Vulkanus just came by and took over Baumann's business, threatening the human to destroy his entire store if Baumann did not surrender his rights of the store to Vulkanus.

"Your drink, Sir." Mr. Baumann grumbled.

Vulkanus snatched the glass and took a nice, long sip. Then he spit it all over the storekeeper. "There was a speck on my glass! What are you trying to do?! Kill me?!" the alien barked. "You're just lucky I don't blow this store to kingdom come!"

Baumann didn't say a word. One false thing to say and Vulkanus will blow the store to kingdom come.

"Y'know, I think I'll just blow it up anyway." Vulkanus took out a small device with a red button on it.

"What?! But we had a deal!" Mr. Baumann got on his knees. "Please! I'll do anything!"

Vulkanus smugly grinned. "Yeah? Then how about you run off while you can? Cause this store is going to go sky high!" Vulkanus laughed as he pressed the button. Then a huge, metallic device shot out of the floor. A time clock ticked off, the bomb was about to go off in one minute.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Mr. Baumann cried.

"So long, Baumann!" Vulkanus laughed as he and his minions ran towards the door.

Then all of a sudden, the door became covered in thick ice. The floor became covered in ice, causing Vulkanus and his lackeys to slip and trip all over themselves.

"What the?! What happened?!" Vulkanus growled as he rubbed his sore head.

The lights went out, the aliens stiffened in fright.

"Alright, who's in here?! Show yourself!" Vulkanus ordered, taking out a laser ray. He turned around and saw a Necrofriggian's nightmarish face staring right at him.

"Boo!" it breathed in his chilling voice.

Vulkanus screamed and fell backwards, slipping on the ice yet again and landed on some of his minions. The blue cloaked alien exhaled a gust of icy wind and encased the whole gang in ice, only Vulkanus's head was sticking out. He looked up and his face grew in great alarm.

"Please tell me that's not who I think it is!" Vulkanus whimpered.

The Necrofriggian flew itself down to the ground. It observed the stunned Mr. Baumann and said, "Having a clearance sale, Mr. Baumann?"

"Ben?! Is that you?! It is you, isn't it?!" the bewildered storekeeper said. "Please say it's you!"

Big Chill smiled. "Okay, it is me."

"BEN!" Mr. Baumann cheered and ran up to the alien, giving him a big hug. "Oh, Ben! I thought you were gone! So the rumors are wrong after all!"

This was a first for Ben. Never has Mr. Baumann ever been happy to see him. But it had to wait because Mr. Baumann just remembered something important.

"Ben! The bomb! Get rid of the bomb!" Baumann frantically turned Ben's head to the bomb. It was close to exploding.

"Ah, that's more like it." Big Chill hit the Omnitrix symbol on his waist and turned into Upchuck. He opened his mouth and his four adhesive tongues stretched out, grabbing the bomb and swallowing it in mere seconds.

Enraged that his perfect day is being ruined by Tennyson yet again, Vulkanus broke out of the ice and grabbed his weapon. "TENNYSON! You are not getting out of this one alive!" The enraged alien charged at Upchuck.

But villains learn the hard way not to underestimate Ben Tennyson.

Thanks to Vulkanus's bomb, Upchuck unleashed a powerful blast of explosive vomit point blank at Vulkanus. The corrosive beam completely destroyed Vulkanus's armor, all that was left was his true form, a tiny infant-like body. He lied unconscious on the icy floor.

Ben returned to his human form and looked up. "Uh, sorry about the roof, Mr. Baumann." Apparently, Upchuck's stunt was so powerful, it made a big, gaping hole in Baumann's roof.

Mr. Baumann shook his head. "Who cares about a stupid roof?" He went up to the hero and held his hands. He looked deeply into Ben's eyes. "Ben, you know I hate you, right?"

"Uh, yeah." Ben couldn't say it was surprising news.

"Well, I hate criminals reeking havoc and ruining innocent peoples' lives even more." Baumann said. "Vulkanus was destroying my business more than you ever did." He got down on his knees. "Can you ever forgive me? I've acted very badly."

Ben smiled. "Yes, yes I do." He helped Mr. Baumann up. "Don't worry, Mr. B. I'm here to stay from now on."

"That is good to hear." a familiar voice said from behind.

Knowing that voice, Ben turned and smiled seeing Rook arresting Vulkanus.

"It is good to see you again, partner." the happy Revonnahgander said.

"Man, you're a sight for sore eyes, Rook!" Ben said, happy as well.

Rook looked concerned. "Your eyes are sore? Did Vulkanus damage your vision?"

"No, Rook. It's-"

"An expression?" Rook smirked at him. "Yes, I know."

Ben let out a laugh. "Oh, you got me!"

"Not bad for a doughnut hole, right?" Rook joked. "But all jokes aside, Ben. We have a lot of work to catch up on."

"Alright, let's go." Ben said with determination.

* * *

In Bellwood, Exo-skull and Subdora were surrounded by a corral of criminals. There was Fistrick, Corvo, Liam, Thunderpig, Rojo, Dr. Animo, Sunder, Sixsix, Sevenseven and Eighteight, even Attea was here!

The townsfolk cowered with fear as the gang of villains

"As you all know, Tennyson is gone." Subdora said. "So, let us celebrate by tearing this miserable planet apart!"

"Let us reek havoc, my beauty!" Dr. Animo said, riding on the back of a purple, grotesque mutated horse.

"Sounds like a party to me!" Attea said.

Eighteight said something in her foreign language, whatever she said, it made her brothers cackle viciously. They unleashed an entire arsenal of weapons out of their armor.

"Wow, starting the party already?" a voice said.

A flash of blue and black swirled around the villains, lifting them off the ground and spiraling in a tornado! They screamed and yelled as they were spinning in the cyclone. The tornado faded away and the criminals all fell hard on the ground.

They all looked and saw XLR8. But seeing the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, they knew in an instant who he was.

"TENNYSON?!" they all exclaimed.

XLR8 smiled. "No autographs, please."

"So, you finally decided to show up, Tennyson?" Exo-skull said ever so smug. "What gives? Were you on holiday or something?"

"Hm, you could say that." XLR8 shrugged.

"Well, it doesn't matter, cause you're pretty much outnumbered, bro." Fistrick said.

"The meathead's right." said Attea. "Even with your little Omnitrix, I've got a whole armada up my sleeve!" She proved her point by showing him the many Incursean ships in the sky. "I'll run you out of town just like last time! Face it, Tennyson. You can't win!"

XLR8 became Ben again. His time going alien has run out.

And at the worst time possible as well, because the odds were very high against him.


	10. A Happy Ending Indeed

"FIRE AWAY, BOYS!" Attea ordered.

Suddenly, a wave of purple light hit the warships. They all stayed frozen in place.

"HEY! what gives?!" Attea barked. "I said fire away!"

The ships remained motionless.

Ben was confused. What could have caused that? He looked over and saw Raven Queen!

Raven smiled and waved. "Hey, Ben." With a flick of her wrist, the warships were sent flying back into space, very deep into space.

"Raven?! What are you doing here?!" Ben asked, completely baffled.

Raven shrugged. "Well, since you said you had a lot of enemies and all, we decided to drop in and help you out."

"We?" Ben echoed.

"Yes! We indeed!" That familiar response came from Maddie! She stood on the edge of a rooftop, right beside a giant teacup filled with steaming tea! The enormous cup tipped over and its contents spilled right over Ben's enemies!

"Incoming!" Using a levitation spell, Raven lifted herself and Ben of the ground before the scolding hot tea poured all over them.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHH! IT BUUUUURNS!" Dr. Animo cried, burnt from the tea. Every enemy screamed and hollered in pain. Ben laughed at the sight as he and Raven were lowered to the ground.

Dr. Animo was the first to recover. "You'll pay for that, Tennyson! Get him!" He commanded to his horse.

The mutated mule charged at Ben.

"Not so fast!" a sweet voice called from the skies.

Everyone looked up to see Apple White being carried by a thousand birds. They placed her in the path of the deranged animal and the princess stood her ground and held her hand out, silently commanding the horse to stop.

Unbelievably, the horse stopped, dead in their tracks.

Everyone was too stunned to speak.

Apple approached the animal and looked lovingly into it's eyes. "Listen, I know you're not really evil." She glared at Animo. "It's your master who's the real monster!"

The animals paused, then it bucked Animo right off it's back.

"W-What's wrong with you?! Attack! Attack!" Animo ordered. But the horse turned against him! It chased after the mad doctor, he screamed and ran off.

"HEY! Who do you think you-" Fistrick snapped. But his threatening voice trailed off when he saw Apple. "are..." he gushed in a lovesick state.

Every man sighed and melted in Apple's presence like they sunk into a deep love trance.

"What a babe..." Corvo sighed, drooling.

"I think I'm in love." Liam clucked, swooning. Thunderpig was so heart struck, he fainted.

Even Sixsix and Sevenseven were swooning over Apple's charms!

Exo-skull whistled at the blonde princess.

Apple smiled and batted her gorgeous blue eyes.

But the female villains just got angry, jealous looks.

Rojo rolled her eyes. "I think I'm gonna hurl." she groaned with disdain.

Eighteight gave her both of her brothers a good slap upside the head.

Attea shivered with revulsion and growled bitterly. "She's not that pretty."

"And what are you gawking at?!" Subdora scolded angrily at Exo-skull. She snarled and slashed her boyfriend across the face with her sharp claws.

"OOOWWW!" The rhino hybrid roared out in pain.

"ENOUGH!" Attea shouted. "I've had it with Tennyson and the rest of these weirdos!" She took out her Techadon Dissipator. "Good thing I kept this baby!"

Everyone screamed and ducked in cover. Shock froze Ben completely. It thrilled the Incursean to see that Ben was now trapped by his own fear. He really was going to be gone for good.

Attea smiled most wickedly. "Say goodnight, Tennyson!" She was about to push the button until,

"Ready! OKAY!" a peppy voice cheered, distracting Attea and ruining her moment.

 _"Onesie, twosie, counting sheep! Drowsy frog girl, go to sleep!"_

A jolt of fairy dust blasted in Attea's face. The Incursean froze, her eyelids dropped and her body went weak. She dropped her weapon and fell to the pavement, she started snoring loudly.

A winged girl flipped down from a rooftop landed before the visibly stunned crowd.

"FAYBELLE?!" Ben exclaimed.

"Don't look at us!" Raven said. "We didn't invite her."

The corner of Faybelle's lip curled in annoyance. "Of course you didn't."

Now the villains were really on edge. They all aimed their weapons at the dark fairy.

"Don't move a muscle, Tinkerbell!" Rojo warned.

Faybelle's eyes blazed, then Rojo and the villains rose off the ground. The fairy stretched her hands out, sparks of dark magic crackled from her fingertips.

The future Dark Fairy harnessed her strongest magic and commenced her curse.

 _"_ _Fiendish dreams in the darkest night! Fall into my slumber, sleep tight!"_

Faybelle chanted. She clenched her hands into fists.

One by one, Ben's foes fell asleep and they all were knocked out. Faybelle released them from her levitation spell and they all dropped hard. They were all fast asleep.

"Whoa..." Was all Ben could say.

Faybelle grinned her evil smile and tossed her ponytail. "That's only a sample of what happens when you mess with a dark fairy."

"Yay! Faybelle saved us!" Maddie jumped with joy. "But...why would you save us?"

"I wasn't here to save you, Hatter." Faybelle sniped. She looked sheepish as she walked over to Ben. "Ben, I thought about what you said. There is always a time and a place to be a villain. I really had a great time at the dance. So I figured I owe you one for the invitation and all." She shrugged a littl. "Besides, I can always be bad again tomorrow."

Ben looked at his friends, they just saved him and his town from his own enemies. They truly were extraordinary girls...and now, he had to leave them.

"So...is this goodbye?" Ben asked sadly. "For real this time?"

"Yeah, we do have to get back to our world." Raven said. "Just promise that you'll visit us every now and then."

"I will. I just can't thank you enough for all you've done for me." Ben said. "You didn't have to come all this way just to help me."

"Ben, we helped you because we wanted to. It's important to pay it forward." Apple said. "I mean, you did save me from the dragon."

"And helped out in my dad's tea shop!" Maddie said.

"And became my friend." said Raven.

"And invited me to something." Faybelle said. "Sure, they don't seem like big deals to you, but they are for us."

Ben felt happy that he helped them. But there was still something in his heart telling him that something was missing. "I know I helped you guys, but I still don't think I belong here..."

"Save it, Tennyson." said a cool, familiar voice.

To Ben's mild surprise, he saw Kevin, Gwen and Kai. Kai held the storybook in her arm. Rook and Max Tennyson arrived with the Plumbers, who arrested the sleeping criminals.

"Ben, you can't punish yourself forever." Max said. "Just stop and think about all you've done over the years. When you were ten, you found the Omnitrix, the most powerful device in the universe, a device that was never meant for you in the first place. And yet, you put it to better use than it's intended purpose. And you did it your way. You've saved countless lives and given so many people the chance to see another day."

"Sure, there were times when you were a jerk and you screwed up a lot, but we still love you for that." Gwen said. "No matter how many mistakes you make, we still care about you, we love you. And we depend on you to be our hero."

"Ben, you're the glue that keeps our universe together and we can't take that for granted." said Kevin. "We need you a lot more than you think."

That, right there, felt like a piece of Ben's heart was put back into it's proper place. He ran over to his friends and held them in a hug.

The young fairy tales smiled and cooed at the sweet sight. Except Faybelle, who put up her icy exterior, but she couldn't help but feel warm inside. Being a villain did not mean that Faybelle was incapable of having feelings.

Max noticed the group of charming young ladies. "So, Ben. Care to introduce us to your friends?"

"Oh! Right!" Ben introduced the girls one by one. Understandably, Kevin and Rook couldn't help but fawn over Apple.

"Well, Ben, I'm glad you've made some new friends." Max said. "But there's something we need to take care of back at Friedkin University."

"There is?" Ben said.

"That's right," his Grandpa Max said. "Follow us."

Shrugging, Ben and the girls followed them.

* * *

At Friedkin University, the place where it all started, there was not a soul in sight.

Ben looked around. "So...what's the trouble here?" He looked to Raven and the others, the kind hearted daughter of the Evil Queen smiled knowingly.

"Well..." Raven, Maddie and Apple said together. "SURPRISE!"

With a snap of her fingers, Raven conjured up a DJ table and tables full of eye-catching treats.

From the school buildings, humans and aliens came rushing outside. They cheered and screamed with joy seeing Ben's return.

"TENNYSON IS BACK!" a Friedkin frat boy hollered.

"YEAAAAAH!" Everybody cheered.

Ben stood there, shocked once again. Raven and the girls laughed. "We might have put together a little welcome back party for you." Raven said.

"Yeah! While we were helping you take out the bad guys, your friends and ours decided to throw you this party!" Maddie jumped and kicked her heels.

Ginger Breadhouse and some college kids came in with trays of more tasty treats. Cupid, Cerise, Kitty, Lizzie, Briar Beauty, Daring, Dexter, and Darling Charming were here as well.

"You haven't seen it all yet!" Briar told Ben. "We even got the best DJ I know!"

Maddie reached into her hat and took out a wireless microphone. She handed it to Briar.

"And now," Briar began. "allow me to present Ever After's best DJ, my favorite and soon to be yours, the daughter of the Piped Piper herself, MELODY PIPER!"

From the DJ table, a girl with long white hair with purple streaks came up. "What up, people?!" Melody hollered, the crowd screamed with joy. "Alright! Everyone, FOLLOW ME!"

She started a song. The beat started slow, then loud music began playing. The whole campus became one big party, celebrating Ben's return. Raven and Dexter danced together, Daring twirled Apple, and Faybelle shoved Gwen aside and danced with Kevin, much to Gwen's chagrin.

Ben and Kai watched his many new friends party down with the Bellwood locals. "It's amazing how much things can change once you're gone." said Ben.

"Yeah, it's an amazing universe we live in." Kai said. She smiled as she hugged Ben's arm. "Now it's time I taught you how to dance!"

Ben grinned. "You're on!"

And so, after what seemed like the end of Ben Tennyson in his own universe, this story ended up with one of the happiest ever afters. New friends, old friends reunited, and the distinct possibility of many more adventures to come.


	11. Maddie Chats With newbienovelistRD

"Wait a tick! Hello?! Yoo-hoo! Excuse me!"

Huh?

"Hello! Young narrator! It's me! Maddie! I've been wanting to talk to you!"

Maddie?! You can talk to me?! And you've been hearing me this whole time?!

"Sure, it's a hatter thing, y'know. Anyway, since this is the ending, I figured I'd chat with the author of this amazing story!"

You...liked my story?

"You bet your teacup collection I do! We met a new friend and we're having a hat-tastic party in a world we've never been to! It's the best story I've ever been a part of!"

Aw, thanks Maddie. That means a lot coming from you.

"My pleasure! So...judging from the final paragraph in the last chapter, does this mean we'll see Ben again?"

Of course you will. But don't tell anybody! Not even your friends! Okay?

"You got it!"

"Maddie? Who are you talking to?"

"Oopsie! Raven's calling me! Anywhoooo, I better get going! Nice chatting with you! Bye!"

Bye, Maddie!

* * *

 **See why people love stories? Because anything can happen in them. Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews from those who liked my story so much :)**


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